Council of Europe Questions Dutch Asylum Policy (Again)

The Netherlands has historically been one of the world’s more welcoming nations for people seeking asylum. But the past decade of war in the Middle East – most significantly in Iraq – and turmoil in Africa have tested that commitment. The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner on Friday, after a visit to the Netherlands, suggested the Dutch government isn’t living up to obligations to protect these people.

In recent years, the Netherlands has tightened its policy for asylum seekers, drawing criticism from refugee advocates. For example, the government has decided that many of the tens of thousands of Iraqis who fled the war-torn country should be returned, judging that a decade after the U.S. led invasion of the country, Iraq is now safe enough for them to go home.

But many Iraqis in the Netherlands are afraid to go back; the Dutch government has expelled from refugee housing those who refuse to leave voluntarily, forcing them to live on the street or in places like an abandoned church in The Hague. The government previously did the same to women with children but stopped after a court at the Council of Europe, an inter-governmental body that enforces several human rights treaties, criticized the practice.

The council’s rights commissioner, Nils Muižnieks, on Friday said the Dutch government still has work to do. It needs to improve its protection of asylum seekers, migrants and children, he said, and the government should stop automatic detention of asylum seekers arriving at Dutch airports. He also visited the church in The Hague and said the government should assure that people at risk of destitution have access to basic needs such as food and shelter.

“The protracted situation of legal limbo of many irregular migrants who cannot be returned should be addressed in a manner that is both humane and human-rights compliant,” Mr. Muižnieks said.